Urban WASH programme

We are working in Bangladesh’s complex and diverse urban

enviornment through projects that bring safe water and improved sanitation, and promote hygiene behaviour for lasting change.

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Image: WaterAid

In Bangladesh’s rapidly urbanising context, thousands of people are being added to the country’s slums each year, with little or no recourse in sight.

These overcrowded urban settlements are characterised by poor infrastructure, lack of access to basic services, and exposure to disasters and climactic risks, creating conditions of unsanitary environmental and public health. All of this is reflected across a range of health indicators where slums perform worse compared to other areas of the country, including exposure to waterborne diseases, nutrition, and maternal and child health.

We are working in Bangladesh’s complex and diverse urban environment through projects that bring safe water and improved sanitation, and promote hygiene behaviour for lasting change. In cities, we work with City Corporations and service providers to expand public services to reach slums. Alongside, our work with public and mobile toilets in the capital and major cities across the country are creating a precedent for clean, well-managed and quality services that benefit millions of commuters and the floating population. In municipalities afflicted by water scarcity, arsenic exposure and poor waste management, we work with local government and residents to implement context-specific water and sanitation technologies that improve environmental and public health. In peri-urban areas, we are supporting families of factory workers with WASH services at home, in schools and in health facilities. Across the board, we work with communities, local government institutions and service providers to build their technical and administrative capacity, and ensure WASH rights of the urban poor.

PEHUP: a project for the urban poor

Promoting Environmental Health for the Urban Poor (PEHUP) is a ground-breaking project focusing on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for the urban poor.

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Image: WaterAid